Postnatal depression.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to W K Tay.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
A descriptive study was done on patients referred to a hospice home care service in Singapore. The demographic profile, type of disease, presenting symptoms and performance status were noted. Particular attention was paid to the incidence of pain and types of analgesics used. The patients referred were representative of the population at large, as was their incidence of cancer. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status was poor (ECOG 3 or 4) in 93 (93%) of the patients referred, indicative of the lateness of referral in many cases. The number of symptoms per patient averaged 5.8, and pattern of symptoms were similar to those of comparable groups of patients in other parts of the world. Pain was present in 82 (82%) patients and controlled only in 22 (22%) of these at presentation. Strong opioids had been prescribed for 51 (51%) patients. In these, oral morphine mixture was incorrectly prescribed in 17 (47%) out of 36 cases. Education in palliative care is needed so that patients are referred to palliative care services appropriately. Though there is some indication of improvement, medical education in pain management continues to be necessary, particularly in the correct prescription of morphine.
Psychiatric disorders and physical illnesses often coexist. Although there is evidence of high psychiatric morbidity in general hospital patients, only a small percentage are referred to the consultation-liaison psychiatrist. The paper describes and discusses the common psychiatric conditions encountered and referred in general hospitals. They include attempted suicides, psychiatric disorders presenting with physical symptoms, organic psychiatric disorders presenting with psychiatric symptoms and the psychiatric consequences of physical illness. The major diagnostic categories of these referrals are organic psychotic disorders, functional psychoses and neurotic disorders. Some broad guidelines are listed for the referring physician. Patients presenting with suicidal ideations or attempts, suspected emotional psychiatric disturbance, a history of psychiatric illness, an apparent incompetence in giving consent for medical procedures and those with diagnostic and management problems could be referred to the psychiatrist.
Between September 1986 and January 1988, a sixteen-month period, a total of 494 inpatients in Tan Tock Seng Hospital were referred for psychiatric opinion. 181 were referred for suicidal tendency and 313 for other reasons. An analysis of these two groups of referrals was done to study any change in referral trends. The findings show that while the basic diagnostic categories of patients do not differ drastically from an earlier study in Singapore General Hospital by Tsoi and Kok, Tan Tock Seng Hospital had its own pattern of requirements for psychiatric consultation because of its own unique patient characteristics.
This paper reports a randomized, controlled, partially-blinded, flexible dose, parallel group, comparative study of the efficacy and tolerance of pipothiazine palmitate and fluphenazine decanoate in patients in remission from Schizophrenia over a 28 week period. The results show that pipothiazine palmitate is at least as efficacious and well-tolerated as fluphenazine decanoate in preventing relapses from maintained Schizophrenia.